


Crimson Retribution

by starfirenighthood



Category: Batman (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Confused boys, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick is still with the Titans, Eventual Romance, Jason Todd is Red X, Lost Days!Jason, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Identity, Secrets, Tim Drake is Robin, Violence, secret crushes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:40:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3798808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfirenighthood/pseuds/starfirenighthood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick Grayson, ex-Robin and now Nightwing, never noted that Red X had left Jump in the Titan's busy lives, until the anti-hero came back. This time he's out for blood, but when Dick finally unmasks X it turns out he knows him. They're family, and this particular member of his family is dead. Or supposed to be. Dick loves him, and is willing to do anything to bring him back. Jaydick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whelp, this idea came into my mind while I was writing Simpler. And well, I couldn't get rid of it! I personally believe Jason is Red X, it just makes so much sense... So yeah this story is mainly Jaydick, with BBRae, maybe some Cybee and Flinx if I feel like it. Mentions of past robstar, and maybe Starfire will get someone, probably not though because I only ship her with Dick but this a Jaydick story so... Set about two (close to three) years after Dick is Nightwing and during Jason's lost days, before he is Red Hood! So to be clear Dick is Nightwing, still with the Titans, Jason's come back to life, but no one knows he's alive yet and he's never been Red Hood only Robin and Red X. So with that settled, please enjoy! ;)
> 
> Disclaimer: I of course do not own the TT or any of the batfam, they belong to DC

Third POV 

To say the past few years have been difficult for Jump City's resident heroes would be an understatement. The simple truth was they were _so_ much more than difficult. Relationships had come and gone, evil plots to overthrow the world defeated, and even the loss of friends and family. For Dick Grayson, ex-boy wonder and now Nightwing, personally it had been nearly impossible these past couple years. The main reason for this hardship? Well, he had lost someone.

This someone had been none other than his younger adoptive brother, Jason Peter Todd. Jason was, _had_ , been about two years younger than Dick. They weren't the closest of people, but they were still friends, _brothers_ , and partners. The second Robin had been very different from his predecessor, different from anyone in the Wayne household. Yes they had all had extremely difficult lots in life, but Jason had lived on Gotham's streets. No father, and finding his mother dead with a needle in her arm, it left Jason a bit rough around the edges.

Bruce Wayne, or rather Batman, had found the thirteen year old trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile. Apparently Bruce had been impressed with the kids guts, but really who was brave enough to steal the _Batmobile's_ tires? Not many, pretty much next to no one. So yeah, Dick understood why Bruce had taken in Jason. Why he chose Jason to be Dick's replacement, the new Robin. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Batman needed a Robin and Jason was more than capable of filling that position.

When Dick had finally given up the Robin mantle, it was a very hard thing to do. Robin, the name to commemorate his own dead parents, was very precious to Richard Grayson. However it had felt good, right to pass it along to Jason. He had certainly proved himself worthy, and Dick trusted him, loved him. They had gone out on patrol, Nightwing and the new Robin side by side, numerous times around Gotham before Dick finally had to go back to the Titans.

Once Jason had even come for a visit to the Tower, and _that_ had been fun and interesting. Although he relatively got a long with everyone, so it wasn't that bad. Then one day while Dick was on Tamaran with the Titans, Jason had died. The clown prince of crime, the Joker, had captured Jason and beaten him to death with a crowbar. Leaving the teenager to blowup in the cold warehouse once Joker had deemed him near death. Batman had gotten there too late and had to carry his second adoptive son away from the rubble, now hanging limp, dead in his arms.

The day Dick had found out, a few days after returning from Tamaran, he had been heartbroken. Of course Bruce hadn't told him, he had found out from Alfred. If Dick closed his eyes he could remember like it had happened yesterday and not nearly three years ago. The look of complete shock and pain on his team's face and the own in his heart. _No_ , he had thought, _no not Jason. Someone else I love can't be gone, no no no no no. It's all my fault, if I had been here, if he had more training. No, Jason can't be dead._ But he was, Jason Todd was gone. Dick had locked himself away in his room once the shock had worn away, crying and breaking things in his anguish. It was a few days before he finally emerged completely, and then he had only stayed for a few hours before headed straight to Gotham. He needed to visit his family and Jason's grave in the yard of Wayne Manor. Jason was buried next to Bruce's parents, Martha and Thomas Wayne.

Before Dick had actually taken on the challenge of dealing with Bruce, he talked to Alfred. The trusted butler loved every member of their dysfunctional family, and Dick could tell Alfred was taking it a little hard. Of course Bruce completely engulfing himself in his work and hardly coming out of the cave didn't help Alfred at all. However prim and proper Alfred tried to be, Dick knew the man he viewed as his grandfather needed a hug and some comfort. Bruce sure wasn't as hell going to take care of that. The two had spent the day grieving Jason together. Mainly staying in the kitchen, they talked and told stories over hot chocolate and goodies considering it was winter. By the time they had finished it was around ten PM. They had even placed some flowers on Jason's grave together. Dick of course was no where near ok, but he felt better and knew Alfred did as well.

"Thank you very much Master Grayson for coming and, helping me through this troubling time."

Dick had smiled and hugged the man, not even feeling ashamed of the wetness rimming his already red eyes. He had already cried too much over the past week, there was no time for pride. Pulling back Dick had thanked Alfred for all his help and assured him he wouldn't not be here for anything. That night he had tried to sleep in his own old room, but he was simply restless.

In the dead of the night, Dick snook out of his old room and down the hall to Jason's room. Opening the door, his throat tightened at the sight. Alfred couldn't bare to clean it up, so it remained slightly disheveled. With clothes piled on the floor, stray wrappers here and there and bed covers scattered like someone had recently slept in the bed. With choked tears, Dick carefully sifted through Jason's dresser picking out a few things to keep for himself. He settled on an old band shirt Jason had loved, a Gotham University hoodie he had almost never worn, and one of Jason's favorite leather jackets. All of the articles of clothing smelt like Jason, and Dick was glad they had worn roughly the same size.

Climbing into Jason's bed, Dick settled under the covers and simply breathed in the smell that was his younger brother. Jason smelled of stale tobacco, some crappy soap, and his cologne that was just _Jason_. It caused Dick's chest to hurt and he clutched the clothes and blanket tighter, allowing the tears to flow. This was his last moment of weakness, his last moment to let all of his pain show before talking to Bruce and going back to the Titans. He had loved Jason, perhaps even more than as his brother. Still did love him.

Dick was glad he had pretty much gotten out all of his sadness and grief, because Bruce was a mess. When he had finally gathered up the courage, he went down to the cave to kick Bruce's ass into gear. At least as much as he possibly could, and it wasn't surprising to find Bruce still in the batsuit typing away at the bat computer. Of course Bruce blamed himself, but Dick didn't blame him, he blamed his own self and couldn't imagine how guilty his adoptive father felt. Not to mention Bruce had _literally_ beaten the shit out of the Joker, who was now in a full body cast from the beating. The Joker had been in the cast for six months before he had healed.

After getting into a fight, Dick finally managed to convince Bruce to leave the cave. However he could see the blank look on his mentor's face with the sadness in his eyes, and knew he'd need to stay for a few weeks. During those weeks Dick would sneak into Jason's room every night, and even when Alfred had caught him he still kept doing it. However the butler hadn't condemned the action, he had simply given Dick a knowing and sad look as if saying 'it is alright, do what you need'. And he really fucking needed to take in all of Jason that he could.

Before Jason had died, things between him and Dick had been, weird. Not bad weird, but weird as in awkward. There was this unspoken tension between the two boys. Dick had realized that he harbored a crush on the sixteen year old. However the eighteen year old had been too scared to share the feeling. Little did he know that it in fact _was_ reciprocated. At the time though Dick had been dating Starfire, so that was always his excuse for never doing anything.

By the time Dick had left, things at the Manor had returned back to some what normal, but he knew Bruce would carry the guilt of Jason on his shoulders like he did the death of his parents. It was something they would both carry, knowing that Jason had needed more time. Once he returned to the Tower Dick then had to convince the team he was ok and comfort a frazzled Starfire, who had of course adored Jason like she does most people. Life moved on and the pain died down, but never faded completely. Like his parents Dick never stopped missing Jason, and now still has nightmares of Jason ranging from him falling with his parents to Dick being the one to beat Jason to death with the crowbar.

The clothing Dick had stolen were never forgotten, and he had even taken a box of cigarettes from Jason's room. Of course Dick didn't smoke, but Jason had. So he set the half empty carton on his dresser. He typically wore the hoodie around the tower when it grew colder outside. The band shirt and jacket managed to become incorporated into his everyday wardrobe. Beast Boy and Cyborg teased him about the horrible band occasionally but Dick never bothered to fill them in on why he owned it. None of them knew the significance of these pieces of clothing that had long lost Jason's comforting scent, and they never understood the cigarettes.

Dick and Starfire had dated for a few months while Jason was alive, but decided that they were both better off as friends. Not to mention that Dick still had feelings for the boy who had just died. Other numerous Titan relationships were still strong such as Cyborg and Bumble Bee and Kid Flash and Jinx. Also Beast Boy and Raven who had just started dating secretly about a week ago. Numerous villains had also come and gone from Jump City. Among those to disappear was Red X, and the Titans didn't really notice in their busy lives. But perhaps though, perhaps if Dick would have payed attention to how little he appeared and the fact Red X had disappeared about a month before Jason had died. Maybe then he would have known.

Now, Dick sat on the edge of his bed with head in his hands. It was around six o'clock in the morning, and he had just woken up from one of his nightmares. They were increasing the closer they drew to the third anniversary, of Jason's death. It was a couple months away and it always brought nightmares and a trip to the manor. Giving his head a light shake, Dick stood up and walked into his own private bathroom that every Titan had attached to their rooms.

Time to get ready for another average Friday, but oh if only it were. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first two chapters have already been written, and I'm working on the third.

Third POV 

Dick strolled into the common room, pushing away his nightmares into the recesses of his mind and pretending to be completely normal. Although if anyone looked close enough they would see the tension in his muscles. Clad in his Nightwing uniform, Dick poured himself a cup of coffee to make up for the lack of sleep. His unmasked blue eyes surveyed the common room, noticing no one else was up and about yet. Probably because it was six o'clock in the morning.

A couple of years ago he had told the team his secret identity, heavily emphasizing the secret. Now he was free to walk about maskless, although he generally kept on his uniform like the rest of his team. It was surprising and a bit comforting that the tower hadn't changed much in the many years they've lived there. Made it homey. Maybe he could do some training before the day officially started. Finishing off his coffee, Dick headed back towards his room to grab a pair of work out clothes deciding that was exactly what he was going to do.

After he got down to the training room and changed into workout clothes, Dick wrapped his hands for the punching bag. Right now he really needed to work off his nightmare as it was starting to creep back into the forefront of his mind. As he began to assault the punching bag, he allowed the anger and fear from his nightmare to fuel his motions. Bruce might be able to push everything down, but Dick sure as hell couldn't. Especially when a certain date was lingering not so far away.

This particular dream had been a new one, and it was worse than most. It was Jason, laying beaten and broken in a pool of his blood. Dick was standing there watching as Joker beat him, and he couldn't move or speak. Desperately the older man was trying to get to him, to speak but he was frozen. Trapped, he was forced to watch as Jason stared at him. The lenses in his mask had broken revealing his blue green eyes that looked straight into Dick's. There was anger and hate in those usually loving eyes as Jason kept muttering "You, why'd you do this to me? I loved you, and you let me die. I _hate_ you."

The chain connecting the bag to the ceiling groaned in protest as a particularly harsh punch was dealt to the abused bag. Those words 'I hate you' were spoken with such contempt and the venom in his glare was enough to make Dick want to cry. He knew he let Jason down, and that fact never became easier to face. With a shout Dick dealt a final deadly blow to the punching bag, making it come free and slam into the wall. Dick panted as he fought to catch his breath, and was confused when he felt the wetness coming from his eyes. He was crying? Oh great. Quickly he wiped away the tears and fought down the urge to cry. Those nightmares never got any easier to deal with either.

Cyborg would be mad that he broke another bag but really it was becoming a common occurrence and Dick couldn't particularly bring himself to care at the moment. It was now around seven, and Dick knew the day was awaiting. With a sigh he headed towards the boy's shower room to rinse off quickly and change back into his costume. Somedays, he wished he never had any responsibilities at all. That he could just stay in his room all day, try to hide away from those dreams. _Those dreams._

Leaning his forehead against the shower wall, he took in a shuddering breath. Dick was planning on leaving the team soon. Everyone knew that, and he thought about leaving right before the third year anniversary. The city was Gotham's sister city of Blüdhaven, and it was possibly even worse. It was in desperate need of a hero, and Dick was in desperate need of a change.

* * *

 

"Greetings friends!" Starfire chirped as she stepped into the common room. It was now around eight, and she had been awake for some time. Generally the young alien rose with the sun, absorbing the rays to gain energy.

Cyborg and Beast Boy were too busy having their usual argument over breakfast to pay any attention to the Tamaranian princess as she floated further into the room. However Raven who was meditating in the corner cracked open an amethyst eye to look over at Starfire saying "Good morning Starfire."

Glad that at least someone had noticed her greeting, Starfire zipped over to Raven. The demoness abandoned all thoughts of meditating and opened both of her eyes to look at her friend. Starfire and Raven had grown to be best friends over the years. "Good morning friend Raven, how did you do the sleeping?"

"I slept fine, you?" Raven said, taking a sip of her routinely morning tea.

One of Starfire's typical bright smiled crossed her face as she replied "Yes I had pleasant schlorvaks." Then she looked around and her head cocked in confusion asking "Where is Dick?" Raven wanted to sigh, but forced it down. Everyone had been surprised when their team leader and Starfire had broken up. Then again Dick had been a bit different ever since his brother had died. It was obvious Starfire still felt something for him, but it wasn't reciprocated, Raven could tell. However the two still managed to be close friends, and it wasn't really awkward for anyone. Thank Azar.

Before Raven could answer however Dick stepped through the door. Speak of the devil. "Found him" she droned, motioning to their team leader. However a slight frown sprung onto her face as she felt the pain and distress coming off of him in waves. Something was really bothering him, but Raven knew better than to ask.

Starfire was by his side in an instant and Raven allowed the sigh to escape, hopeless. "Greetings friend Dick, did you have pleasant schlorvaks?" Starfire questioned, hovering by the black and blue clad hero.

Turning towards her, Dick forced a smile saying "Yeah my dreams were fine, yours?" _No they weren't._

"Yes my schlorvaks were very pleasant" the young alien woman responded with a smile.

Dick walked father into the room and responded "I'm glad." Leaving the red head, he walked towards the kitchen to grab a quick bowl of cereal for breakfast. Landing on the ground, Starfire frowned at her friend. Something was wrong with him, and as his best friend Starfire wanted to help. Normally she could get through to him when others couldn't.

However before she could do anything a hand was placed on her shoulder ceasing her movement. Starfire turned towards Raven, face confused. As if reading her mind, Raven replied "Just give him some space Star, he needs to be alone right now." With a sigh of resignation, Starfire allowed Raven to lead her to the couch and talk.

Ignoring Beast Boy and Cyborg's bickering, Dick fixed his bowl of cereal and sat down alone at a booth to eat it while he read the paper. Dick loved his cereal. Most of the paper was about the Titans as per usual, and Dick rolled his eyes. Before he could finish his cereal the Titan alarm went off. And it wouldn't be a normal day without the alarm going off at least once.

Immediately everyone stopped and abandoned what they were doing and came to stand behind Dick as he typed away at the counsel. "Titans" he barked, but Dick became confused as he read, "it's, Red X?"

Everyone looked just as confused as Nightwing, and Beast Boy voiced what they were all thinking "Why is he back? Dude, I though he left."

"Well it doesn't matter at the moment, our scanners show he's kidnapped a thug and is torturing him in a warehouse down by the docs. He still needs to be stopped and then we can worry about why he's back. Titans, go!" Everyone sprung into action and headed down to the garage.

Dick's mind was racing as he jumped on the N-cycle. Mainly wondering _what now?_

 

* * *

 

Red X smirked beneath the mask, pleased with himself. The reason for his smugness? Well he had managed to capture one of some unknown gang leader's thugs. Plus on top of that the anti-hero had a gun pressed to the guy's temple. He had been tracking down this new gang beginning to appear, but so far hadn't been able to figure out who it was.

Really he was surprised the Titans hadn't shown up yet. After all he did take the guy in public. Hey, no amount of bystanders was getting in his way. Plus the guys shouts as he had been tortured, but then again they _were_ in an empty warehouse. He had already shot the guy in the foot, Red X was _not_ fucking around.

"I'll only ask you this one more time" the anti-hero growled, becoming irritated. Leaning in close he pressed the barrel of the gun harder against the mans temple, sneering " _Who_ are you working for?"

The goon who was currently tied and bound to a chair, winced at the pressure. The man was heavy and appeared in his forties, plus his accent suggested he was from somewhere along the east coast. Strange considering they were currently on the west. "Man I already told ya, I don' know who the boss man is."

With a growl Red X struck the man across the face with the gun. Then he he turned off the safety and the revolver span. Pushing the gun back into the man's temple, Red X spat "Any last words?"

"How about freeze, and put your hands behind your head."

Turning towards the voice, Red X was surprised to see the Teen Titans. Well, maybe not teen... Figures they'd show up right before the job was done. Damn, a mixed feeling of love and hate rose up in X as he looked over Dick. Of course none of them knew who he was, oh how shocked they would be. When Nightwing shouted that fucking catch phrase, X remembered getting caught was _not_ on his agenda for the day. Jason Todd had shit to do.

Red X raised the gun and began shooting at the heroes. He was careful not to actually hit them, just keep them at bay as they evaded. After all he didn't want to kill them, well, not yet anyways. He managed to reach the back door of the ware house without any of them getting too close. "It's been fun kiddies, but now if you'll excuse me I got shit to do" X snarked before running out of the door and transporting the hell out of there before anyone could get him.

When Nightwing reached the door Red X had run out of, he was long gone. With a frustrated growl, he walked over to the tied up thug to deal with him. As he took in the condition of the man, he was confused more so now than before. Since when did Red X kidnap thugs and torture them with a _gun_? There weren't many people who used guns in Jump City, and apparently X should be added to the list.

By the time they had handed the guy over to the JCPD and gotten back to the tower, Dick was dying to investigate the seemingly random appearance and violence. Fortunately no one had been hit by any of the stray bullets, but Dick felt like those weren't meant to hurt them and more like to distract them. As soon as they reached the tower he headed straight for his 'cave' as the team liked to call it.

Dick began by finding the last time Red X had been in town. Woah, nearly three years? How had he not noticed? Then again that was right before the space trip and Jason's death, but still he should have been more aware. Criticizing himself he continued to dig, Dick was determined to get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming Up: Let's take a look at a day in the life of Jason


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for you all!

Third POV 

Fuck.

 _I should have known fucking golden boy would come and ruin my plans,_ Jason thought bitterly. All he had wanted to do was figure out what stupid gang was trying to move in, just to make sure it wasn't who he was searching for. Joker. The fucking bastard wasn't even in Gotham, Jason knows, he's checked. All he wanted to do is find out if it was the freakin clown or not, but no golden boy Dick Grayson and his band of merry do goodies had to come and ruin it all. So what if he was going to shoot the guy? Oh wait, that's right 'Daddy Bats' wouldn't fucking approve.

Who gives a shit?

Jason doesn't, which is why he trained with some of the best assassins and everything after his brief little swim in the Lazarus Pit. Oh wait, maybe I should tell you about that? Yeah well apparently Talia Al Ghul for some reason brought Jason back to life by throwing him into her daddy's life giving, green swimming pool because she 'loves Bruce' or whatever. Ok, well actually that's not quite true. One day Jason just woke up in his coffin, and he _literally_ had to claw his way out. Of course that haunted him constantly, but he hadn't remembered a thing before being hospitalized and being in a coma. Then Talia had taken him in, and then really she had brought 'Jason' back to life. The Pit gave him back his memory, as painful as it is. Although he couldn't complain much considering Talia had helped him out a lot with money and training and shit. Oh yeah, and did I mention the slight side affect of the Pit?

Jason's brain was all screwed up.

Yeah, the pit made him mentally unstable. Which of course had lead to some _very_ interesting choices. Like when he had found out about the new Robin, and of course tried to kill his stupid 'replacement' without them knowing who was doing it. Well if that little brat running around at Batman's side didn't fucking sting, the part where Bruce showed no regret over not killing the Joker over Jason's death, that fucking _burned_. So yeah, he had lost his desire to kill his former mentor and 'replacement' actually. However he did have a sort of plan, but right now he was taking a break from his training to look for the Joker.

Right now Jason just wanted to fucking find the stupid clown and kill him, in the slowest, most painful, and brutal way possible. God how he will make that, that _thing_ , suffer. Jason Todd will be the last person to die by Joker's hands. Of course his searching had lead him to Dick's city, but Jason didn't mind that much. After all he remembered where he had stashed the Red X suit the last time he wore it. Yeah, before Jason had died he had been Red X. How? Well, that's also a long story.

When Bruce had first taken in Jason, there had of course been all that drama and shit. Long story short Bruce didn't tell Dick he was handing over the Robin mantle, Dick got mad, Jason got mad, and it was just a mess. Of course at first both Dick and Jason hadn't liked each other, but Jason was only thirteen and Dick fifteen. Eventually they got along and actually became, close. Well while Dick was away with the Titans sometimes Jason would miss him, so he'd sneak out of the Manor with the BatWing or something and fly to Jump. Surprising enough he never got caught, or it they knew he never got in trouble for it. Of course he'd stolen the Red X suit and everything just to mess with Dick, but he had died before getting the chance to fess up. For a moment Jason remembered some of the feelings he had had for Dick, but he quickly shoved that down.

Now was _not_ the fucking time to get all sappy and shit. Besides, it's not like Dick felt anything for him. After all, why would anyone miss him? He had just been a pain in the ass and now they had his 'replacement'. Jason pretended that it didn't sting, that the thought of Dick not caring about him wasn't like a stab in the chest. Of course Dick didn't care, probably hadn't even thought about him since Jason died...

Growling in frustration, Jason punched the wall of his safe house. He should have fucking known that seeing Dick would mess up what little brain capacity he still had left. This wasn't about Dick. He wasn't here to see Dick, he was here to find the Joker. That's all it was, the mission. At least, that's what Jason constantly was telling himself. _The mission, kill the joker._

 _Maybe I could just go watch Dick, just once._ Jason thought to himself, but quickly ditched the thought. No, he wouldn't do this to himself. With a huff Jason ripped off the stupid Red X mask and ran a hand through his black hair. Even that had changed, now there was this stupid white streak in the front of his black hair.

As soon as Red X had teleported away from the Titans, he had snuck back into his safe house. Jason was really hoping nobody would find him here on the edge of town, and if he was careful enough nobody would. Besides its not like he'd be here for long, just a quick stop on his way through and he had wanted to grab his Red X suit. It's not like Joker was actually here, so this was just a pit stop before he continued his search. No, _no_ he was not here to see Dick.

Dick was dead to him...

Or at least, that's what Jason wanted to believe. It was all really confusing. Sure if he thought about Dick there was this, _thing_. This thing that bubbled up in him, and this emotion that Jason didn't know what to call. He hated it. He _hated_ Dick for making him feel this way. Even when he was a kid, this stupid thing would be there. Now though, Jason was trying to get rid of it, he didn't want it.

Easier said than done.

Walking further into the abandoned cabin, Jason headed towards the bedroom. He had found this place deep in the woods one of those times he had come here before he died. There was still furniture and it ran on its own generator for power. Really it was a miracle, and it even had running water. It was easily one of the nicest places he's stayed in the past half year. Stripping out of his costume, Jason placed it carefully into a case he'd gotten for it. Briefly he checked the Xinothium levels, and seeing as they were good left to go take a shower.

When he stepped into the spray of the shower, Jason let out a sigh of relief. It seems like he'd been going nonstop for weeks, and the warm water felt good considering it was October which meant it was getting colder. Really it was strange, considering Jason had grown. Almost as if he had never even died, except for the autopsy scars running down his chest. Though you couldn't quite be sure what the Lazarus Pit can do, especially considering the only person that they knew who used it for sure was Ra's. And he was a psychopath.

Again Jason found his thoughts drifting towards a certain black and blue clad vigilante, making him sigh. The twenty year old rested his forehead against the cool tile wall, thinking about what he could do. _What could he do?_ He was dead, or supposed to be. Despite what he wanted, he knew his brain would never be able to rest unless he saw his older brother. Even if Dick didn't know it was him.

Maybe he could go steal some Xinothium? The Titans would surely come and he could always use more. Of course when Jason was younger he'd always anonymously donate enough money to pay for what he had stolen to the industry, but this time Daddy wasn't here. Perfect. Then he could take out the other Titans fairly easily like always, and just get in a short little fight with Dick.

Yes, yes this was a brilliant plan. That way he could just mess with Dick for a bit, and then come back and skip town. Plus he could get some Xinothium for his suit. Yeah, this was an awesome plan! Then he would be able to focus more and everything. Grabbing the shampoo, Jason started washing his hair with a smirk. In his head he was making plans, plans that he would put to action tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming Up: Dick's investigation


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note (PLEASE READ): Omfg you guys, I am SO sorry. I haven't updated anything in forever and I am so so sorry. I've just had a lot of personal things to do deal with and then I got really sick and I've been to the ER and doctor a lot and on crazy strong medicine (just ask reversethiscurse69) so I haven't really been able to write. In fact I now have a cold but I gotta start writing again! So I'm going to work really hard and try to update a lot of things and Crimson is first on my list! So without further adieu I present your long awaited chapter! Again I'm so so sorry but I hope you all can forgive me? Anyways, enjoy ;)

Third POV

Sighing, Dick placed his head in his hands.

It was now around midnight, and he had been investigating the random appearance of Red X _all_ day long. He had gone through all the files on the anti-hero, but _nothing_. There were no other sightings of X in any other city over the past three years, not anywhere. It's aloots as if he had just up and disappeared. The tricky part was that now he was back, but why? _Why_ was he back?

Dick had absolutely no fucking clue.

Its not like there was a big shipment of money or other precious cargo coming into Jump City, no special events, nothing. _Nothing_. It just made no sense. Nightwing had of course made his way back to the warehouse to look for clues but there was nothing. He even tried to look around town but there was just no trace of him. If the other Titans hadn't been there Dick might have thought he'd been hallucinating like that one time with Slade, but no Red X had been there.

He had been there with a gun. _A gun_. What was with the gun? Not to mention that they had stumbled in on Red X _torturing_ someone. Granted he had been a goon for some gang in Jump, but still, since when did Red X _torture_ people? With a _gun_? It made absolutely _no fucking sense_ and Dick was going crazy not being able to figure it out.

The others of course were worried about Dick, but they were used to this by now. They knew that eventually he'd come out of his cave and eat and sleep and start to function again, but for now he was obsessed with figuring out this mystery surrounding Red X.

Sometimes he was a _lot_ like his father.

When his researching lasted until the early hours of the morning, Dick decided he might need to go get some sleep. If it was the same Red X then Dick would figure his next stop would be stealing some Xinothium, but yet this new X seemed a _lot_ different so there was no telling where he'd show up again, if at all. Maybe the suit had been passed along or somebody else found it, it would explain the unusual behavior he showed.

As Dick stripped his costume off so that he was only in his boxers, he climbed into bed and settled under his covers. In the midst of all this confusion one thing was for sure, Red X needed to be stopped. And as Dick drifted off into sleep, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something just wasn't right...

* * *

 

Well, this had to be Jason's worst idea yet, and he's had a _lot_ of bad ideas. What was his bad idea you might ask? Well, he was planning on breaking into a Wayne enterprises building in Jump City, hoping that he would get to fight Nigwing.

Yep, Jason's finally completely lost his mind.

It was the next day after he had met the not so teen Titans, and he had been working on his plan to break in and separate Dick from the other Titans all day. Once his plan had been complete, Jason had smirked and had a celebratory smoke and beer. Not too much to get drunk since he had a job later, but just a slight buzz. Made it all a bit more fun.

So around midnight, Jason put on his costume and made sure all his weapons and teleportation device were working correctly before slipping on his mask and heading out. Luckily the Red X costume came with a voice modulator so that there was no way somebody could tell it was him. Not that they would anyway, but still it was nice to have for an extra measure.

As Red X made his way across rooftops to the tallest building in the city, Jason rolled his eyes at the ginormous glowing 'Wayne Enterprises' words on the front of the black building. Looks like Bruce was still full of himself, that hadn't changed much it seemed to Jason as he teleported his way to the top of the building. The only problem with the teleportation device was that he could only go to places that were in his line of eyesight, but if it was better Jason could get shit done a lot faster and not just in one city at a time. Still though, it _was_ pretty nice.

Like he had planned Jason found a vent on top of the building and cut the metal bars with one of his X blades, successfully climbing inside. It was a little cramped as he crawled through the ventilation shaft but it would have to do. It took a few minutes but finally he found the desired room and kicked off the grate, successfully dropping down into the middle of the room. It was a smaller vault like room with one wall completely covered in small, circular storage containers that were almost like small vaults themselves.

Jason didn't give a shit about the invisible lines he knew would trigger the alarm, after all that was _kinda_ the point. He wanted the Titans to come, as crazy as that sounded, and he could easily evade the building's security. In fact as he opened one of the containers and slid it out from the wall, a loud siren sounded through out the building as a red light started flashing from somewhere above him.

Smirking to himself, Jason estimated the Titans arrival time in just a few minutes so he took his sweet time collecting five vials of the desired Xinothium. He only needed about one vial every two weeks if he used the suit all night, but it was nice to have so much in case a few broke and he never knew when he'd get this easy of a steal again since he was moving on from Jump.

Oh and Jump was _so_ easy to steal from.

As soon as Jason heard footsteps and shouting from down the hall, he knew it was time to leave. He didn't really have the patience for the shitty security at the moment. Using the small containers lining the wall, Red X managed to climb up to the open vent and crawl away as the security got there. Jason's smirk grew as he exited the ventilation shaft on the roof to only hear the familiar voice of none other than Dick Grayson.

"Well Red X, it seems some things never change. Still stealing Xinothium, although the gun through me for a bit of a loop last time."

Chuckling, Red X turned to face the Titans all in their battle stances. However he focused his sights on Nightwing, and Jason noticed that Dick was very curious and could tell that the older man was just dying to know why he appeared so randomly. It made Jason unreasonably happy. "Well, I would say some things do change. I know I've changed, and you've all changed too. Not so teen anymore are we? Lookin good kid" Jason shot back, looking Nightwing up and down blatantly.

Obviously that through all the Titans into confusion, and that was just the moment he was looking for. Quickly Red X threw a sticky X over Raven's mouth and arms, while simultaneously sticking Starfire and Beast Boy together. He also managed to throw an X that shorted out Cyborg's circuits, leaving just a shocked Nightwing left.

"Catch me if you can, Bird Boy" Jason shouted with amusement as he jumped to the nearest roof top, rolling into a sprint.

Getting over his shock, Nightwing gave chase to Red X as his teammates struggled to get free. "Ah man, not again. I _hate_ this nasty shit!" Beast Boy cried, Starfire voicing her agreement as Raven tried to remain calm.

As Red X ran from rooftop to rooftop, Nightwing right on his tail, Jason decided to have some fun. Abruptly coming to a stop, he caught the hero by surprise and jabbed him in the face with his elbow. Nightwing reared back in surprise, and Jason grinned. "Aw come on, you gotta do better than this boy wonder if you wanna catch me."

Face twisting into a scowl, Dick spat blood out of his mouth and stared down Red X. It was obvious that the anti-hero was trying to get a rise out of him, but why? Dick was curious and he figured he could get him to talk. After all Nightwing was known for being _kind_ of chatty...

"I've actually gotten a lot better since I saw you last, but of course you weren't around to see that" Nightwing replied cockily, making Jason fall for the bait.

Dropping out of his fighting stance, Red X shrugged replying nonchalantly "Oh ya know, had business elsewhere to take care of. If I had known you would've missed me so much I might've stayed."

Nightwing was able to get closer as he cocked his head to the side, questioning "And _where_ exactly was this 'other business'?"

With a chuckle Red X shook his head, replying "Oh no, you may be extremely hot but I'm not gonna fall for it that easily. Nice try though." Those words caught Nightwing off guard for a second time tonight, allowing Jason to push him against the wall behind them. Wow, Dick was just _completely_ off his game tonight. Red X trapped him against the wall and pressed up against him, hovering his face over the hero's. Jason noticed he was taller now, and it made him feel even better. Oh, and did he feel _great_ right now.

"Maybe if you think hard enough and dig deep enough, you'll figure out what happened" Red X started, getting as close as he could as his voice dropped an octave, "but until then I'll see you around, Bluebird."

With that Red X teleported out of there, not realizing the mistake he had just made as Dick stared off into space with wide eyes thinking the same thing to himself over and over again.

_No, it couldn't be... But it sounded just like... Jason?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so, whoop whoop another chapter! I know it's kind of short but I love how it came out and you get Jason and Dick interacting! Sort of... Am I forgiven now for not updating? Probably not, but again I'm really really sorry and I promise I'm going to update faster. If you wanna know why I haven't been updating it's in the first author's note up at the top^^ So besides that, what did you guys think?! Oh Jason, he made a mistake. I'd love to hear what you guys think will happen and any suggestions on how them confronting each other should go down, which might be the next chapter ;) So if you liked it don't forget to comment/leave kudos! Please and thank you ;)
> 
> Coming Up: Dick confronts Red X and it all gets a little bit clearer, sort of...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ: In June it'll be my two year anniversary of joining fanfiction.net/writing fanfics, so to celebrate I thought I'd do something special. Which ever option below gets the most votes will be the one I will write and publish in June. There is a poll on my fanfic profile but you guys should get to vote top! So either go over there or vote right here! I'll be posting this on all of my stories from now on. If you wish for more info on any of the options below please ask me your question in the comments. (You may pick two)
> 
> 1\. Updating one story of your choosing until the story is complete. (If this wins I will have a vote for which story)
> 
> 2\. An alternate chapter of Calling Nurse Anders that is Jaydick. (It will not affect the current story in anyway) (Also I shall be posting this story shortly to AO3)
> 
> 3\. One shot with a pairing of your choosing. (If this wins I will have a vote for any pairing I have written for before)
> 
> 4\. Collaboration one shot with CrazyTimesAMillion. (It will either be Stucky or Jaydick)
> 
> 5\. Sequel to any of my finished one shots of your choosing. (If this wins I will have a vote for which finished one shot)
> 
> Author's Note: Well here we go, another chapter! Enjoy ;)
> 
> Warning: Language, and this is a slash! M/M. Don't like it? Don't read it.
> 
> Disclaimer: Yeah we all know that I don't own any of these characters.

Third POV

It was later in the evening. Around ten o'clock by the time he finally got to let himself not hold back. After Dick had helped all the other titans, he had gone straight to his room and sat on the edge of his bed. That was an hour ago and he still had yet to move a single muscle from that solitary spot. Those words Red X had said just kept running through his head on a constant cycle. His whole world felt like it was coming crashing down around him. Dick was drowning, being dragged down into the depths and he couldn't fight to stay a float in the midst of all of his emotions and thoughts.

What could he do? A single tear rolled down his cheek, and hastily he wiped it away. _This was ridiculous, ridiculous_ Dick thought to himself. There's no way it's Jason. Jason is gone, dead. Nothing can change that. Nodding to himself, Dick was desperately trying to convince himself of that fact. However, no matter what, there was this little voice in the back on his head that wondered what if.

_What if... No._

As the confused man stepped into the shower, leaning his head against the cool tile, he took deep, ragged breaths. He had to do something. He had to know. He had to. With a heavy heart, Dick dragged himself away from the wall. Tomorrow, tomorrow he would look for Red X and confront him. He would find out the truth, he just had to.

Dick had spent so long mourning. Mourning the loss of his brother and partner and maybe more, the feelings he had in his chest for the younger boy never dying or fading with time. They burned bright inside Dick's heavy heart, and just the thought of Jason being alive brought a spark of hope to light up the dark hole that Jason had left in his heart. But he couldn't allow himself to hope, for the truth could easily break him.

Which is why early in the morning, Dick practically jumped out of bed and got ready for the day. He dressed in his Nightwing costume and grabbed a cup of coffee before setting out to patrol the city. Nervous as all hell and trying not to let that spark of hope grow, but not wanting to diminish it either. Of course he had told Raven and Starfire who were always up early about his plans, and insisted on going alone when they offered to help.

This was something personal that he had to do alone.

* * *

 

Well, Jason was a total mess. Completely destroyed. He really had honestly thought he could just see Dick one more time and be able to move on, but there was this twisting thing in his chest that just couldn't bear the thought of leaving. He hated it. It meant he still had feelings for the older man, and he didn't want those feelings. They were fucking idiotic and unwanted and he hated them more than he could express with any words, vulgar or not.

Jason fucking hated them especially considering right now he was crawling around on rooftops looking for Nightwing. Just the slightest sign of his older brother. Why? Hell if he knew. Sometimes his life fucking sucked, since he had no self control. Like none. Nope, mother fucking zero.

After last night, getting to be all up in Nightwing's personal space totally made Jason's brain short circuit when he got back to the safe house, and there was nothing he could do. Tried as he might, nothing could fix the stupid Richard Grayson shaped hole in his heart. After lying awake for hours honking about nothing but the older, Jason finally gave up. He still was trying to fight the tide of his feelings, but he would do whatever it took to keep him from drowning in his older brother.

So how did he figure to solve the problem? Well he couldn't think of anything, except go find fucking Richard John Grayson so Jason could fuck with him and check him out. Not fuck him, just fuck _with_ him. _Although..._

_You know what, nevermind._

Refusing to go down that road again in his mind, Jason focused on trying to find Nightwing. Not really having a plan for if he found the hero. What could he do? I mean, pushing his buttons and flirting were always fun. Sure, let's go with that. All he needed was to simply be around the older.

For hours Red X and Nightwing circled the city on the rooftops, both determined for different reasons. What they didn't know was they were pretty much circling each other the whole time, barely out of reach. Finally after multiple dead ends, Dick gave up and went to the top of Wayne tower to watch the sunset.

It was the tallest building near the ocean, so it had a great view like Titans Tower did. However that was all the way across town, so he settled for this. Sitting on the edge, he let one leg dangle as he brought his other leg up to rest his arm on a knee. Of course being an acrobat, a member of the late Flying Graysons, he wasn't scared to be sitting there.

What Dick didn't know was as he got comfy to watch the sunset, there was someone watching him. After all his searching and frustrating failures, Jason finally spotted Dick. Just this sight of him so far away nearly knocked away his breath. Sitting on top of Wayne tower, figures. And sitting on the edge too, Dickie sure did love the thrill of heights.

Now this is where Jason made another mistake.

It was easy, he could simply sit there and watch Dick from his spot. Get his fill and Nightwing would never even see him from his secluded spot, or he could've just left. Could've packed up and moved on, but instead he decided to get closer. Big mistake. Stealthily, Red X climbed up to the rooftop and sat behind Nightwing. Taking in how the fading light illuminated his dark hair and toned body, Jason fucking hated that man.

"I know you're there."

Those words nearly caused Jason's heart to jump out of his fucking rib cage. See what Jason didn't know was that Dick had seen him trying to stealthily crawl up behind him, and had smirked and played along. Turning his head so he could look at Red X, Dick stated "Are you staring at me or the sunset? Because both would have a better view if you sat up closer." Dick was just trying to remain calm, and really if Red X wanted him dead he would've tried something instead of staring at him. Plus if his feelings were correct, he knew Red X very well.

Snapping himself out of his shock, Jason went back to his usual cocky self quipping back "I don't know, I have a pretty great view of your ass from back here."

"Ha ha, so funny" Nightwing replied, turning back to look at the sunset, leaving the other no choice but to come sit up closer.

Hestitantly, like a skittish dog, Red X sat up by Nightwing on the edge and looked down at the ground below. Despite every inch of his body screaming to fucking leave, get the fuck out, Jason didn't. Found he couldn't. "Jesus fucking Christ, how can you sit like this?"

"Just don't look down."

Rolling his eyes behind the mask, Jason replied "No shit, thanks Sherlock."

Dick simply looked over at the other, holding X's gaze. Jason couldn't help but wonder if Dick's eyes were still just as bright and beautiful as before, if he would even recognize Jason now. It's been so long, he ached to rip off Dick's stupid mask, or to just rip Dick apart for making him feel like this. Why did he torture himself?

They fell into an awkward silence, never breaking their gaze as they were both drifting deep into thought. Dick wondering if it really was his little brother behind the mask. If this whole time Jason had been here, letting Dick suffer in silence because of his death. The thought angered him, and before he could think he found his body moving. Catching Jason off guard, Dick jumped and grabbed Jason's wrists effectively pinning him down.

Of course Jason could've broken the hold the older had on him. Used a trick the other himself had taught him, a long time ago when they used to wrestle in the mats in the gym at the manor. However, instead Jason found himself becoming compliant. He didn't fight, didn't struggle, he just let Dick keep him down. Maybe some large part of him was done hiding, done pretending, and knew what was coming next.

All Dick could do was stare down at the antihero, wondering if he was ready for the truth. If it wasn't Jason, he would be crushed. If it was, he would be crushed. There was no way to tell which would be worse, so with a deep breath he decided. He chose his poison. Dick got the mask off as Red X lied there ever so still, and immediately dropped it with shock as tears filled his eyes with a rush of emotion.

"Jason."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ: In June it'll be my two year anniversary of joining fanfiction.net/writing fanfics, so to celebrate I thought I'd do something special. Which ever option below gets the most votes will be the one I will write and publish in June. There is a poll on my fanfic profile but you guys should get to vote top! So either go over there or vote right here! I'll be posting this on all of my stories from now on. If you wish for more info on any of the options below please ask me your question in the comments. (You may pick two)
> 
> 1\. Updating one story of your choosing until the story is complete. (If this wins I will have a vote for which story)
> 
> 2\. An alternate chapter of Calling Nurse Anders that is Jaydick. (It will not affect the current story in anyway) (Also I shall be posting this story shortly to AO3)
> 
> 3\. One shot with a pairing of your choosing. (If this wins I will have a vote for any pairing I have written for before)
> 
> 4\. Collaboration one shot with CrazyTimesAMillion. (It will either be Stucky or Jaydick)
> 
> 5\. Sequel to any of my finished one shots of your choosing. (If this wins I will have a vote for which finished one shot)

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so, new story everyone! Yay! So I'm still kinda iffy on this idea, so if enough people like it I'll keep updating. We'll just see how it goes huh? I'm ignoring comics for the most part and Trouble in Tokyo bc I can. Yeah I know Jason is a bit younger than what he really is in this story but fuck comics I do what I want. I also know Jason and Dick weren't extremely close before Jason died but I don't know I guess this is just kinda how I would think Dick would react a bit. If it's a tad OOC, oh well... So if you liked it and want to see more PLEASE let me know, please and thank you! ;)


End file.
